Race with a Twist

Just so I’m on record as still being alive, here’s a posting!

Sunday is the annual Dawg Dash race that I run and because I felt disappointed in how I did last year, I’ve decided to train harder this year in hopes that I’ll do even better than before.  As extra incentive, I’ve decided to take an extra challenge…I’m racing against not only my personal best time, but a local personality.  As a shameless plug, here’s a website you can visit (http://ibeatjohncurley.com/).  Basically, I’m racing against John Curley (along with the rest of the field) and hopefully beating his time AND hopefully earning money for a charity of my choice (one that I have already chosen, but will not post here).  Interesting concept, but one that I think is definitely worth while.  So, extra incentive to do well this year!  (either that or I’ll dangle a piece of cake in front of me the entire time and chase that endlessly).

Grocery Shopping for One

I’ve got a major gripe…recently, a local store (who shall remain nameless) began instituting deals where there is a minimum quantity that must be purchased to get a certain price.  These aren’t quantities that are small, they’re large and basically discriminate against those who may be single.  Why do I need to buy 10 pounds of chicken just to save $0.50?  Have to buy 3 gallons of ice cream?  Safe to say, if that’s the policies that a store wants to impose on its customers, that’ll be one less place I need to consider giving my dollars to.

_ _ _ _ _ _ Is Dead?!?!

If you haven’t seen the latest episode of House M.D. or don’t care for the show, stop now for there are spoilers about the latest episode that will shock you (or in the case of don’t care for the show, care that _ _ _ _ _ _ is dead, as if you knew who they were anyways).

So Lawrence Kutner, in the latest episode of House, commits suicide.  House by the end of the episode is obsessed with the fact that Kutner may not have killed himself, but instead was murdered.  Now in the media today, it was discovered that Kal Penn, the actor who portrays Kutner, has actually accepted a job in the White House, which of course is an opportunity you just can’t pass up.  I like Penn’s decision, but isn’t there a better way to remove Kutner’s character beyond having him committing suicide?  The character was incredibly intelligent and in many ways deserved a better send off than suicide.  It’s sad, but for the real world actor, it’s great to see the opportunity.

When Doing a Nice Thing…

It seems the story of my life…you try to do the nice (and in this case, the right thing) and you only have bad things happen.  Case in point, I’m on a flight home when it was overbooked and the overbooked are a few members of a team of cheerleaders on their way home from a national competition (they finished 6th if you care).  Since the next flight was only an hour away, I figure I give up my seat and take the next flight.  In a twist of irony, the person who was to sit next to me also offered his seat.  In the end though, neither of our seats were needed.  Now here is where the fun begins…the guy next to me was moved to an aisle seat and I thought I got an empty seat next to me…instead, they let a stand by passenger board and they ended up sitting next to me…did I also mention that this individual could have taken up two seats?  So instead of a nice comfortable 4.5 hour flight home, I spent that time with my face practically planted on the window.  Add the chit chatty cheerleaders in the rear, and you’ve got a flight that was the complete opposite of fun.  At baggage claim, the person who was going to sit next to me told me he didn’t have any fun because a gal sitting next to him was drunk and couldn’t stop talking…given the choice, I would have definitely taken the later flight home (regardless if the airline offered a voucher) if I knew that this was the garbage I was going to put up with.

Thoughts on Baseball

There have been 2 headlines that are pertinent to me that I’d like to talk about. One is the Alex Rodriguez (aka A-Fraud) admission that he took steroids back in his Texas Rangers days.  While it’s disappointing to see a player who HAD so much talent stoop to such a low level, I guess it wasn’t that surprising to see him join the ranks of Barry Bonds and Roger Clemens in taking these supplements.  What’s really bad about what A-Rod did was that he seems ingeniune in his apology and seems to only be coming out because he got caught.  I’m one who believes as great as his numbers are, have been tainted and should affect his admission into Cooperstown.

The second headline (and if you’re a Seattle Mariners fan, you know where I’m headed with this) is the signing of Ken Griffey Jr. (announced the Tom Hutyler way!)  I know he doesn’t fit in with regards to where this team is going, but I still think he has a lot  to bring in terms of cohesiveness, a sense of fun to the clubhouse, and a left handed bat to swing for the right field fence.  He’ll definitely bring fans back to Safeco and I hope his presence doesn’t make it for a long summer.  I still have great memories of his days as a Mariner and being the first ball player I admired…heck, why do you think I ever learned to bat left handed??

Snapping Out of It

You’ve gotta hate miserable dreary winters.  They’re cold.  They’re wet. And They’re dark.  It’s odd the affect this time of year can have on the mind.  Makes people irritable, depressed, blah blah blah blah blah.

This winter season has been tougher than most.  Big snow storms and just the impression that it’s darker and colder than normal has made things pretty rough the past month.  Today the drive into the office was different…the sun was rising and it just brought the better me.  You get tired of feeling miserable everyday because it’s really draining and puts you in a cycle that finds a way to go on and on until something finally snaps you out of it.  The past few days have felt better, so hopefully I’m out of this vicious cycle.

Thawing Out

In what has been the longest cold spell I have ever experienced, I can safely say that I am glad to see the rain again.  Seattle along with the rest of Western Washington was struck by a push of arctic air that settled over the area.  Add to it moisture from the South and you get snow…lots and lots of snow.  We got hit with 4″ one day, another 2″ the next and with all that snow, it made driving tough through the neighborhoods.  Visiting the ‘rents, their snow was so thick that I had trouble getting down the street (car got stuck about 4 times).   It’s so bad here that with the snow plows pushing snow off the street and on to any on street parking, that the city is not issuing parking tickets right now (as if the cars there already could get out in the first place!).   Atleast we got a white Christmas!

Running in the Cold Stuff

It’s that time of year again in Seattle…it’s cold and it’s dark when I run after work.  Last week it was all long sleeves, gloves, and a beanie.  Saturday was not too bad with my lap around the lake, but that has changed with the wet ground, sub freezing temperatures, and now a nice layer of ice is on all the roads and sidewalks in this area.  With the temperatures not expected to get above freezing for a week, I think I might have to put my after work runs on hold (or really punish myself by running on – dare I say – a treadmill!).  Gosh I hate this time of year.  Snow may be nice to look at, but that and the cold just makes running difficult.

UPDATE (12/15/08):  Just got done with a 2 mile run and it was 27 degrees.  Some ice on the trail, but being able to see the ice upcoming helped and of course taking it easy.  Running with a focus on stability actually requires some work and use of a different running gait from what I’m use to.

We’re Bailing Out Who?!

A failed policy, poor direction, missed investments…if a company (or in this case companies) can’t properly chart their own course and is going under, they go under.  How is it fair that a failing business model is rewarded by a bailout to keep a failing business afloat?  That is what the american auto makers are trying to do and it’s frustrating that they are asking taxpayers to help them out and keep them in business.  I think my intolerance towards stupidity is showing because I can’t accept the fact that bad business decisions are going to be bailed out.  And to add to the anger is the fact that the executives go to DC in 3 different private jets…I know the economy is bad, but the American auto industry has been losing ground to foreign automakers for years and you would have thought that if you’re losing to the competition that would you do something to get back into the game…ah stupidity has never been so infuriating!

Coming Home

After 9 days on the road, I’m finally back on US soil.  The past week I embedded myself with the Mexican culture.  While the pollution got to me, the taste, sites and smells we’re unforgettable.  The people there were great and I can’t forget how many protests I ran into which led to bad traffic.  I did spend some time out in the pyramids and seeing some of what the city has to offer.  The 7 days I spent in Mexico City were great and now I’m must prepare myself for Thanksgiving.  Hopefully more to say soon!